Her world was dark, but she could feel the magic pulling at her. She had never been good at using magic, but Loki could rarely pull a prank on her in their youth for she could sense magic like it was a particularly strong smell.
She reached out to the magic, calling it.
It replied.
She awoke suddenly and with a gasp, holding something in her hand. She looked down and found herself holding the axe meant for Thor - Jarnbjorn.
Last she knew, she had been faced with the full force of a burning star, and yet she felt no pain...
She looked at the axe again. It was a powerful weapon indeed.
She felt strong enough to battle both Odin and Laufey and still be standing to fight the Norns themselves. She felt like she could take off Thanos' head with one punch.
And then she remembered Thor.
The tree and the furry creature were by his side, but were looking at her. Thor was by their feet - silent and still.
"Thor," she said, "call Jarnbjorn to you, like Mjolnir."
"He's not waking up, lady." The creature said. "He should've passed out from the pain long before he did. Unless you have the some magic Asgardian stone of medicine here, he's as good as dead."
Sif looked to Eitri, who shook his head. "We don't have any healing stones left."
The creature was momentarily taken aback. "Wait the magic stones are-?Whatever. Even if we left here at full speed we wouldn't be able to contact my team for a day and a half."
"Jarnbjorn can summon the bifrost." Eitri said. "But that could kill him."
"What's the bifrost?" The creature asked.
"He'll die anyway." Sif reasoned. She tried to listen to the magic of the axe, and it responded eagerly. "Your highness, we can bring you with us."
Eitri shook his head. "If you manage to stop Thanos, come get me. I don't want to be apart of this fight, and if he succeeds, I'd rather die than live in the world he forged."
Sif bowed her head. "Then I thank you for the hospitality you have shown me, and wish you the best."
"Avenge the dwarfs of Nidavellir, Lady Sif." He said sincerely. "If Thor wakes, tell him the same."
She nodded and began talking to the magic of the axe, ignoring the words of the creature beside her.
"Norns - directors of faith," she whispered in her head, "bring us to the friends of this creature and this tree, the allies of Thor. I beg this of you."
She opened her eyes and was greeted with the kaleidoscopic colours of the bifrost. She thanked the Norns, and they were suddenly on a new floor, now steaming with the newly etched runes of the bifrost.
"What the fuck?!" Said an unfamiliar voice. "You burnt weird shit into my ship! Who's she?! What happened to the pirate dude?"
She looked up, into the eyes of a man in a leather jacket. "My name is Lady Sif. I'm a friend of Thor's. You must help him."
Soon Thor was on a healing bed, some unfamiliar medicine helping his progress.
The creature seemed interested in how the axe had teleported them and wanted to look at it. She refused. It was Thor's weapon, not his.
Introductions were made. The creature - Rocket - seemed concerned that the blue lady - Nebula - was there. Apparently, someone called Gamora was likely dead and Nebula - who had escaped from where Thanos was holding her - was teaming up with them. They had also lost the Aether.
Sif didn't spend much time with guardians, the air was tense now that one of their own was dead, and she didn't want to impose on them.
So she spent most of her time with Thor. Travel to Midgard was slow, as they couldn't use any jump points or the bifrost until they were sure it wouldn't kill Thor. Nebula didn't seem to care, but Quill told her that the more people they had alive to fight Thanos, the better. Sif was glad he said what he did, her argument would've been pulling out her sword.
"I promised to tell you about Loki and I - how I knew about their secret." Sif said, pulling up a chair beside Thor's bedside. "I'll tell you now, so you can't interrupt. I think if Loki could choose, they'd want me to tell you while you were unconscious too. I hope you can hear me though. Mantis told me your senses would still work when she put you in the healing trance."
She looked for the best place to begin. "Even though the Valkyrie exist, women have never been seen as equal in Asgard's eyes. Becoming a respected warrior was tough. It was the same for Loki, what with them appearing as a boy and using seiðr - most people see it as a feminine craft. When we were a lot younger, we were close. We weren't... friends exactly, but if someone was teasing Loki, I'd punch them, and if someone made fun of me, I knew they would end up humiliated by some prank of Loki's. It was a... solidarity of sorts."
"There were a few weeks of intense training that I was allowed to take residence in spare chambers of the palace. One day I returned to find my closet a mess. I didn't know what I suspected, but I drew my sword and silently searched for the intruder."
"I found Loki in front of my largest mirror, wearing one of the few dresses I owned. I was furious. I started yelling at them, asking them if they thought that it was funny making fun of me for being a girl. They tried to teleport away, but their magic wasn't great back then, they only moved a small way away to the right. I... I caught them by the throat and slammed them against the wall."
"I told them they were just like every other stupid boy, and they said they weren't. I yelled a lot more at them, and Loki was crying a lot, but eventually they were able to finish their sentence. 'I'm not a boy' they said and I was... I was confused, understandably."
"We talked a bit more, and they were able to explain. Sometimes they felt like a girl, and sometimes they felt like a boy. Sometimes they even felt like both or neither or somewhere in between and, well it was a complicated talk. They were sorry for coming into my room without permission, but I didn't really care that much at that point. I wasn't angry anymore. I told them they could borrow my dresses whenever they wanted if they asked for my permission first, and I promised to keep their secret."
"A couple of weeks later, they came to me excited. They didn't tell me what was so exciting, they just changed into a perfect copy of me."
"They told me they had perfected shapeshifting, and that they had an idea."
"Every so often, when Loki was a girl, they'd shapeshift into me and pretend to be me in a training session, while I sat in the library, disguised as him, and pretended to study."
"Eventually, Loki created their own female form. They decided to test it out on Fandral. You'd remember that, I think. The night in the tavern when he was kissing a raven-haired maiden and she suddenly transformed back into Loki. You all took it as a jest, one of Loki's pranks, but to them it was validation."
"As often as we could, Loki would slip into some clothing of mine and the two of us would go to a nearby village. They could be themselves, live in the skin that fit them for a short while."
"We drifted apart after awhile. They made friends with those two witches - Amora and Lorelei - and I grew closer to you and the warriors three. Under those sorceresses' influence, Loki's pranks grew more malicious and their words became more biting."
"After Lorelei was locked away from her crimes and Amora banished to some forbidden realm for Asgard's safety, Loki was distant. There was a time, if you'd remember, that they hardly spoke and walked around the palace like a ghost. I know not if it was the loss of their friends or the revelation that their friends would do something big enough to be punished so severely that damaged Loki so, but I could not find my friend in their eyes. I knew that they needed help, but I did not want to make the effort to give it. Loki was dead and you were lively. In hindsight, I can see how selfish I was to not make an attempt just because it wouldn't be fun."
"Even when their spirit returned to them, things weren't the same between us. I was a respected warrior, and my loyalties now rested with you and the Three, not them."
She sighed. "Perhaps if Loki had not... If I had not encouraged the Warriors Three to come to Midgard with me after you, do you think Loki would've sent the Destroyer? Do you think if I had made an effort to repair our friendship before their heritage was revealed, they would've come to me for support instead of killing an entire realm? I..."
"Loki confuses me much, Thor. It's morbid, but I am nearly glad they are dead, for I shall never have to confront the complicated feelings I have for them. Are they a villainous traitor that I hate with a passion? Or are they my friend's little brother, a friendship that could've been mended if I had put forth a little more effort?"
"I miss them. I miss Fandral and Volstagg and Hogun. I miss so many, Thor. My heart aches more with every breath I take. You are the only one I have left, I need you to wake. I need you to be here."
She placed her hand on his and gripped tight, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Please."
Jarnbjorn remained completely still.
